NYY News: A new shortstop in town!

Mar 27, 2023 - 9:00 AM

SI.com | Pat Ragazzo: It didn’t matter that he has only 22 games of experience in Triple-A (with a 30.3 percent strikeout rate). The Yankees, after watching him post an incredible 1.064 OPS in spring training, informed shortstop Anthony Volpe that he is making the major league roster. He won the shortstop competition against, mainly, Oswald Peraza and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. The former, initially seen as the favorite to win, has been sent to Triple-A.

If he starts, Volpe will be the youngest Yankee to do so on Opening Day since Derek Jeter in 1996. The fifth-best prospect in baseball per MLB Pipeline showed enormous progress with the bat and, improbably, locked up the gig.

“I was probably pretty blacked out,” a happy Volpe said shortly after getting the news from Aaron Boone, per the NY Post. “If I had a heart-rate monitor on, it would probably be my max ever heart rate.”

Relievers Ron Marinaccio, Jimmy Cordero and Albert Abreu were also confirmed to have made the team.

MLB.com | Bryan Hoch: In an audition to win a rotation spot with the Yankees, right-hander Jhony Brito was amazing against the Toronto Blue Jays. He was perfect for 5.1 frames, retiring the 16 hitters he faced in a dream afternoon. The Luis Severino injury opened yet another rotation spot, and Brito seems like the perfect man for the job. On Sunday, he struck out the side in the first inning and then got 10 of the next 13 outs on the ground.

NJ Advance Media | Randy Miller: Another lat strain will keep the aforementioned Severino from making the Yankees’ Opening Day roster. Unlike the one he suffered last year — one that kept him on the injured list From July 14th to September 21st — this is a low-grade strain, on a different spot and less severe.

Still, it’s a strain, and he will have to miss time. The power righty says that he will consider himself fortunate if he miss “three or four starts.” It’s a critical season for Severino, entering a contract year and with the team already down several arms out of the gate. He expressed some regret that this will not be the first season he’s had without injury concerns since his emergence as a full-time starter, but added that he believes it could be better that it happened now rather than getting shut down midseason again.